It has been a long time and well I have been quiet busy trying to make a living. I woke up on the right side of the bed and decided that,  I should start blogging again. I do hope this would be for good.

A lot has happened since the last time I blogged, but today, I can’t help but mention a very interesting development in the dotcom industry in Nigeria. Two start-ups were launched, providing the same solution and that not been shocking enough, registered using a similar name or rather the same name with an addition of  “S”.

I present to you nairalist.com and nairalists.com.  Nairalist.com was registered on  25-Dec-2008, on Christmas, while Nairalists.com was registered a month or so later on the 01-Feb-2009.

Nairalist.com which was the first to launch uses a craiglist inspired concept to present classified advertisement targeted to Nigerians and friends of Nigeria; it was developed by Seun Osewa, the owner of the Nairaland forum.

Nairalists.com which surprisingly was launched one month or so later,  presents the same concept, a similar name, and an aggregated content from Nairalist, launched with an improved version of Nairalist.com with also a similar presentation style. This move was really shocking not only to the community but to the owner, who launched a legal campaign against the founder.

The question that plagued my mind then was, Did Nairalists.com infringed the copyright protection of Nairalist.com? It was apparent that the community contributed content was aggregated, but that act in particular is questionable; as  Nairalist.com does not own the content submitted by its members.

What then was the crime commited by Nairalists.com?

I discovered that Web pages fall under the concept of “Trade Dress” . This concept refers more broadly to a product’s physical appearance, including its size, shape, texture, colour(s), graphics, and other characteristics.

The U.S. Supreme Court established the standard a person wishing to protect certain trade dress must demonstrate to win in court.

1. First, the trade dress must be distinctive, either because it is inherently distinctive, or because it has acquired distinctiveness over time through public recognition.

2. Second, the trade dress must be non-functional.

3. Third, and finally, the trade dress of the defendant (person being sued) must be likely to cause confusion as to the source of the product or service.

4. Whether a Web site is inherently distinctive would seem a judgment call. Most Web site designers are shooting for a unique look, yet, that can make it easier, or harder, for any one site to stand out.

For popular Web sites this will be of less concern, for they may acquire distinctiveness, that is, recognition by the public, through their popularity. Many of us, for example, might recognize immediately the Yahoo or E-bay home pages.

The requirement that trade dress must not be functional looks at its impact on the competition.

Source:Can I trademark my Website

Now where does Nairalist vs Nairalist fall? (Below is the script of the conversation I had with an American attorney at Traverse Legal)

Brian Hall:
How May I help You?

Kayode Muyibi:
I am writing an article about two websites, and I was wondering if I can ask a few questions regarding trademark?

Brian Hall:
sure

Kayode Muyibi:
The subjects are www.nairalist.com vs nairalists.com

Kayode Muyibi:
Nairalist.com began a classifieds site , a month later nairalists.com was registered by another party for a similar service

Kayode Muyibi:
Now the question is, does Nairalists.com infringe any copyright or trademark law?

Kayode Muyibi:
Do note the difference in the names, as in the “s” that follows in the Nairalists

Brian Hall:
it depends, domain name rights are directly tied to trademark rights. If the owner of nairalist.com can establish trademark rights (either registered or common law) then the registrant of nairlists.com may be cybersquatting

Kayode Muyibi:
Then where does the trade dress clause apply?

Brian Hall:
Trade dress usually does not apply in domain name matters

Kayode Muyibi:
It applies to websites design? aesthetics?

Brian Hall:
it may, but those items tend to be considered as part of trademark infringement and the overall likelihood of consumer confusion analysis

Brian Hall:
trade dress is more akin to the particular packaging of a good, or architecture of a restaurant, etc.

Kayode Muyibi:
if a consumer confusion argument can be made, does nairalist have a case?

Kayode Muyibi:
1 month?

Brian Hall:
Again, it depends, what does nairalist mean? how long has it been used in commerce? are there third party fair uses of it in a descriptive or generic sense? these are the types of questions to consider

Kayode Muyibi:
yes, they have the same services but a little differences in their features.

Brian Hall:
1 month is an awfully short period of time to establish common law trademark rights under us law

Brian Hall:
we assess matters like this daily, identify the case law and provide a more detailed recommendation if you are interested in the future

Brian Hall:
good luck

Kayode Muyibi:
Thank you for your time. Thats about all for now.

My Thoughts

I am not a lawyer, but it doesn’t take a lawyer to understand that Nairalist.com does not have a case against Nairalists.com. But What do you think? Let me Know through your commentary.

I woke up yesterday morning to be welcomed by the usual, what I call “the morning flu”, well the usual morning flu that lasts till I step out of the shower. The bad news was, this specific one was here to stay for a while at least, considering i am still hanging out with a box of tissue.

Yesterday night was a nightmare too, I had a nasty headache, thanks to my phone rigging and my little brother bulging into my room to ask me some silly questions. Anyway I am getting better now, after literally overdosing myself with a lot of fluids.

My day today is ruined because I can’t do anything productive with a running nose and a disoriented self, I hardly can even think.

Do you happen to hang out in star bucks, Macdonald’s or around a public library where internet browsing is actually free? Well I do, considering it gives me the opportunity to get some fresh air and a chance to check out what the world has to offer.

But beware, it comes at a price, a hidden one !! Free as it may sound, it is an unsecured network, and an idiot browsing the same network could sniff the traffic for passwords and confidential information. This is not funny at all because you could become a victim.

So how do I secure myself from such idiots, who think they have the right to steal and use my information, because I happen to like free surfing?

I use Tor. Tor helps me anonymize my web browsing and publishing, instant messaging, IRC, SSH, and other applications that use the TCP protocol.

It also comes bundled with an application named “Privoxy”, which prevents my computer from automatically sending personal information to websites.

Well so how much does it cost? Well everything comes at a price, and Tor certainly does come with a price too. It does cost me time because it is slow. It is slow because WebPages are transmitted through several servers around the world to get to the computer of the user.

You can download Tor from http://tor.eff.org/download.html.en . So Beware of free wifi hotspots, you have been warned.

I cant read my mails at Googlemail, because apparently Google decided that I have been using my email account “unusually”, whatever that means. So if you email me using my Google mail address, please do note that I wont be able to reply you in or rather within 24 hours, thanks to Google.

Below is their message to me :

Our system indicates unusual usage of your account. In order to protect Gmail users from potentially harmful use of Gmail, this account has been disabled for up to 24 hours.

If you are using any third party software that interacts with your Google Mail account, please disable it or adjust it so that its use complies with the Google Mail Terms of Use. If you feel that you have been using your Google Mail account according to the Terms of Use or otherwise normally, please contact us using this form to report this problem.

I am still yet to come into understanding on why other people’s wealth excite some people. This entry was triggered by some post I came across on the net. The part that actually amazed me, is the provocative response to that particular post. They were actually arguing on who is richer and getting all stuck up with the vanity that enshrouds it. I really don’t get it, perhaps someone out there does? I would call it Vanity intoxication.

For those that have checked on me whilst i was absent thank, for those that didn’t, thank you too. I am still alive and kicking, and being quite busy with a lot of things. Would return back to blogging sometime soon.

How would you like to operate the perfect business? This means..

1. You are your own boss!
2. You don’t need any customers!
3. You don’t need employees!
4. You can operate from home, work, vacation or anywhere else in the world as long as you have an Internet connection.
5. You never have to worry about job security, harassment or any other employment-related anxiety.
6. You never need to worry about employer payroll, strikes, theft, rent increases, health inspectors, lease problems, being sued, etc…
7. You don’t need to do any cold calling.
8. You decide which days you wish to work.
9. You make the decision to take a vacation at a moment’s notice.
   
   Interested?
   If you think this is what you have being looking for, and you are a bookworm, posses a computer, and a high-speed Internet connection and willing to spend the first year without pay, you have the willigness to read and study and sacrifice a few bucks, drop me a mail at kayode.muyibi[at]gmail.com.

   I am actually looking for two partners, who want a share the same ride.

Blood diamonds, yes that movie is off the hook, and does deserve an award. I watched it today with a friend at the cinema. This movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, does send a morality check trigger to anybody that loves diamonds, or possesses one, or even believes that it could symbolize “love” or “bondage”.

In the movie Blood Diamonds: 

Leonardo DiCaprio as a South African mercenary who’s jailed for smuggling, highlights the illegal “conflict diamond” trade during civil wars in Sierra Leone and Angola in the late 1990s.

The stones also funded armed conflicts in Angola, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Questions like, How do we for instance, differentiate between conflict diamonds and non-conflict diamonds? Is it alright for us to wear or posses diamonds that have questionable root sources? , crops into the mind of the viewer.
Ethically I for one, think that humans should boycott the buying of diamonds, considering the reality that surrounds it. I am saying this, even with the consideration that there are sources that say 99.8% of diamonds are from non-conflict zones. The authenticity of that statistical source is questionable considering it comes from the representative of the cartels.

I think, there are other gems that could symbolize love, bondage, or even madness, such as gold, for example? or perhaps the classical pearl. They are precious gems too, aren’t they?

Via Blood Diamond.

LiewCF highlighted 23 things you should check when you implement your wordpress blog.

Although WordPress is easy to install and it runs out of the box, but you should update some settings before start blogging. Downloadsquad published the comple post-install checklist. A great list with detail instructions.

1. Create blog title, add email address
2. Change your password
3. Disable visual rich editor

To read the rest you can visit his post titled “WordPress Post-Install Checklist“.

I have tried to go through all and made sure everything goes in regards to the checklist. The next step for me now is to monetize and make an average post of one a day.

Good day blog readers, I am a bit excited today about the news I am about to share. Oh besides I am not back to blogging either, just a peep to post my excitement. Let me spill the beans, there is a new Nigerian intellectual forum that is just what you might have being searching for.

This news coming from me? I do perfectly understand if you are struck with a sudden hesitance or rather shock on the idea of a “Perfect New Nigerian Forum”, but the fact is this is for real. ThinkNigeria is the perfect place to share your views and opinion.

What is Think Nigeria?

Think Nigeria is a Nigerian intellectual forum, for Nigerians and friends of Nigeria, to contribute and voice their opinion on topics that interest them, in an environment that accommodates both the freedom of speech and expression.

So what are you waiting for, rush and register now, for Think Nigeria is the place to share some of your precious online moments.